TV broadcaster RTVS (source: TASR)
Less than five months after they started working for the new leadership of the public-service TV and radio broadcaster, RTVS, two top managers have announced on February 5 they are leaving.
Head of the news and publicist journalism Juraj Rybanský and head of the TV newscast Boris Chmel are expected to end their work by February 28, the Sme daily wrote.
The former is allegedly leaving for health reasons, while the latter for private reasons, RTVS spokesperson Erika Rusnáková said, as quoted by the daily. Rybanský confirmed, too, that it has been health issues which are making him quit RTVS. Chmel commented he wanted to focus more on his family, Sme wrote.
Rumours cite other reasons
However, according to background information, disputes between the newscast management and journalistic team itself are allegedly behind this step. The tensions started at the beginning of January when RTVS CEO, Jaroslav Rezník (SNS coalition junior partner nominee appointed in 2017) suspended the investigative TV show Reportéri (Reporters), and later the work of two reporters, Róbert Kotian and Peter Turčík – of the Dejiny.sk radio show – on the public-service broadcaster, Regina Radio, which falls under RTVS. They hosted a Christmas programme critical towards the division of Czechoslovakia and SNS MP Andrej Hrnko slammed it on a social network.
After the protests of several journalists, Rezník promised to revive Reporters in a new format from September 2018.
Head of the RTVS Council, Igor Gallo, said for Sme that he believes the reasons stated by RTVS, and would not associate the recent departure with the dissatisfaction of the newscast team, or with scrapping Reportéri.
